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Not happy, John: Worsfold again denied Hall of Fame honour

Simon White

The AFL has inducted (from left) Mark Ricciuto, Nathan Buckley, James Hird and Michael Voss into its hall of fame, but there has been no such honour for Eagles coach John Worsfold. Graphic: Liam Phillips

West Coast great Glen Jakovich says the AFL Hall of Fame selection process is "flawed" and "confusing" if it continues to ignore the claims of West Coast premiership captain and coach John Worsfold.

Worsfold is the only man to captain and coach a premiership since the AFL was formed in 1987 but technicalities could be keeping him out of the league's Hall Of Fame – perhaps permanently.

John has played or coached in almost 450 games, has been in five grand finals for three premierships and deserves a spot.

The West Coast coach has been overlooked for Hall of Fame entry as a player for the past decade and the situation continued last night when James Hird, Nathan Buckley, Mark Riccuiuto and Michael Voss all got the nod.

John Worsfold can only be considered for induction to the AFL Hall of Fame as either a player or a coach and not a combination of both. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo

Worsfold appears to be the victim of rules that prohibit selectors from considering a person for entry based on a combination of both their playing and coaching achievements.

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Jakovich, who is in the Hall of Fame as a player alongside former teammates Guy McKenna, Dean Kemp and Peter Matera, said the selection process needed to be changed to make room for his premiership skipper Worsfold.

"I personally think John Worsfold should be inducted on his playing deeds alone," Jakovich said.

"Before, during and after my own playing career, I have never seen anyone attack the ball and the contest as ferociously as John did.

"Bruce McAvaney made a speech at the Hall of Fame dinner (on Thursday night) and noted that the people sitting at the tables around the room had made the league what it is.

"Well John has played or coached in almost 450 games, has been in five grand finals for three premierships and deserves a spot on any of those tables.

"The (selection) rules need to be looked at to make sure they recognise a person's entire contribution to, and impact on, the the game, not necessarily separate as a player and a coach.

"When you think about the other four of us (including McKenna, Kemp and Matera) being in the Hall of Fame, it's a bit confusing to think our spiritual leader and inspiration isn't in there with us."

Worsford, who skippered West Coast to their 1992 and 1994 premierships, first became eligible for induction as a player in 2001.

Given the yearly inductions must include at least two players who have retired in the past 10 years, Worsfold's chances of entering the Hall of Fame as a player now seem slim.

Coaches become eligible for the Hall of Fame once they are out of the job. So Worsfold would become eligible for induction as a coach if he is not offered another contract at season's end at West Coast, which he coached to a grand final in 2005 and the 2006 premiership.

But given there are only 14 coaches in the Hall of Fame and all of them have won at least two premierships (six have won between five and 10), Worsfold would need at least another flag or two to have any real claim in that department.

The kicker is that Worsfold can only be considered for induction as either a player or a coach, not a combination of both. So his two premierships as captain, 1988 Eagles best-and-fairest and 209 AFL games don't complement his 2006 premiership in the eyes of Hall of Fame voters.

If Worsfold's coaching and playing credentials are added, then his resume stacks up pretty well next to several existing members of the Hall of Fame - and, in the case of former Adelaide Crow, Mark Bickley, you could argue it is significantly better.

Bickley, who was inducted in 2009, captained the Crows to two premierships in 1997 and 1998. But he never won a club best-and-fairest award and was Adelaide's skipper for only four seasons, compared to Worsfold's eight at the helm of West Coast. He has also never coached an AFL side.

Comparisons between Worsfold, Doug Hawkins and Tony Shaw are also interesting.

There is no denying Hawkins and Shaw deserve their spots in the Hall of Fame but, as a premiership-winning captain and coach, Worsfold would have comparable qualifications.

Worsfold was never as brilliant a player as Hawkins and wasn't as durable (Hawkins played 141 more games). But Worsfold and Hawkins both won a club best-and-fairest apiece and Hawkins, while an entertaining (if sometimes bumbling) media commentator, has never coached.

Shaw, meanwhile, played 313 games and won a Norm Smith medal in captaining the Magpies to a drought-breaking premiership in 1990.

But he also won only a single best-and-fairest and struggled as a coach – in Shaw's four-year tenure Collingwood never finished better than 10th and "won" the wooden spoon in 1999.

Still, Worsfold has some good company outside of the Hall of Fame. For now, at least.

Also among the ineligible is Mick Malthouse, Worsfold's premiership coach at the Eagles. Malthouse has coached unbroken since 1984, winning 373 of 649 games and three flags, including two with the Eagles and one last year with Collingwood.

But he can't be considered for a Hall of Fame coaching spot until he vacates the Collingwood helm at the end of the season for Nathan Buckley. Assuming, of course, he doesn't go and find another coaching gig.

6 comments so far

Nathan Buckley......was overated and is still overated. He only won a brownlow, at least all those other 'leaders' won flags. Typical Victorian/Collingwood crap!

Commenter

CHOGM

Date and time

June 10, 2011, 2:09PM

Tony Shaw should be stripped of his hall of fame status for his continued one-eyed moronic commentary on fox sports. They should hold a dis-honorary ceremony and give him a good slap in the face with a wet fish.

Commenter

ben

Date and time

June 10, 2011, 3:52PM

How the hell does Nathan Buckley qualify for the hall of fame and John Worsfold does not? If Buckley had of stayed at Brisbane and captained three premierships in a row yes I would agree. Jack Dyer would be turning in his grave. Buckley was a good ordinary player at best.

Commenter

bill

Location

Box Hill

Date and time

June 10, 2011, 5:04PM

I dont like worsfold or the eagles, but surely a premiership winning player/coach is more deserving than a has been who never won a premiership. Good on the AFL for not making it totally obvious that the collingwood football club is allow to buy its members entry into the hall of fame...

Commenter

cameron jason

Location

brisbane

Date and time

June 11, 2011, 6:01AM

John Worsfold was a thug player who oversaw the developing drug culture at the eagles.He belongs in the Pharmaceutical hall of fame, not the AFL one!

Commenter

Corbachov

Location

Townsville

Date and time

June 11, 2011, 11:43AM

It seems an injustice that John Worsfold has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame given his list of AFL achievements. To add to those achievements in this article, he was selected as an All Australian in 1988....